Thanks D. for emailing me the article New York Measuring Teachers by Test Scores - NY Times by Jennifer Medina
As for what I think...ARGH is about all I'll say in writing...ok - make that ARGH ARGH ARGH
One question though - anyone making a connection between the article in the WSJ about behavior problems in pre-school and the unrelenting pressure and emphasis being put on testing and test scores? I am and have been for quite a while. I was also discussing the WSJ article (post below) with my 90 year old mentor/professor last week and the first thing she said was "maybe they're trying to teach them too much". There you go. Out of the mouth of experience....
I'll be happy to talk to you about the article and the implications for J. when we meet this week but as for a request for a blog reaction this is about all I'm comfortable with.
Argh.
Enjoy the day,
RK
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I second that "Argh" and add a "God help us". Things are getting worse. I like the connection you're making about the pressure and the behavior problems. I will bring that up at our next PA meeting.
Could they be more stupid about education? I guess that's a rhetorical question. I wish someone there was actually an educator and knew what they were doing.
I, too, second the ARGH!!! None of this stuff is working, so they just keep doing more of it.
When will the school systems remember that people are not standardized? Machines are. Do we want a society of mechanized humans? Cyborgs programmed with a standard set of information? Is that where we're heading? I've just finished rereading "Fahrenheit 451" and some of the parallels to society today are frightening.
When will each person's unique gifts and contributions to society be encouraged, recognized, appreciated and rewarded? When will learning to learn be the most important thing anyone does, rather than be able to vomit out sets of facts? That's why we have computers. They're good at that. We humans don't need to be.
Study after study clearly shows that test scores and class grades do not predict work performance or the ability to get RESULTS. Humans have to be good at "why", not just at "how".
I'm going to stop now before I really get started. You may translate my ARGH into any expletive you see fit, the nastier the better.
Post a Comment